Editors Note: This column has been submitted by an influencer in the state of Florida who wishes to remain anonymous and has previously submitted columns for TFS. At this critical time for our state, nation and planet during the COVID-19 pandemic we at TFS are committed to bringing various perspectives into the discussion about public health and our economic future.

3,925, the total number of SARS-CoV-2 positive cases from last week for those under the age of 12. That’s all we know thanks to the lovely new 7-week-old weekly format the state of Florida has decided to go with (while there are some positives to it there are some negatives to this format with local of age positives being one of them).

It’s been approximately 3 months since everyone over 18 could openly receive the vaccine in Florida (approximately 2 months for Pfizer 12 and above) and as April became May became June the positive case numbers were dropping like flies. However with the Delta variant making its way through the United States and many people seeing the mask mandates end cases have steadily increased since the middle of June where this current week case positive is nearly 4.5 times higher than it was at the lowest (6/11 reporting date).

NBC News is now reporting that it could now take early to midwinter before Emergency Use Authorization is given for any vaccine for patients under 12. This is a serious setback with schools in this state slated to start in person learning as soon as August 9^th (Franklin County). Ron DeSantis was in my home county at the end of the last school year where the principal of the county middle school (who ironically was my freshman and sophomore math teacher…small world) where Ron branded Baker County of all places a beacon of education for the state of Florida. Why, because they had in person learning all year in school, full stadiums for student athletic events in county (and yes they were full) all while ignoring most of the simplest of things other counties with in-person learning were doing? All in a county with one of the highest positive rates in the state. All while ignoring the reality around them.

Now before you ask how the heck a liberal is living in ‘Trump County’, let me state very clearly I am a conservative who has known the site’s main editor for well over a decade now. I also want to make it very clearly after January 6^th I finally changed my voter registration card to no party affiliation. I say all of this to ask one simple question, have we as a society completely failed those who in the most need of adult wisdom, our youth?

Once the state went full bore reopen anyone with the capacity to understand data and human behavior knew it was only a matter of time before all hell started to break loose and hospitals were having to voluntarily return to holding some surgeries due to a surge of SARS-CoV-2 hospitalizations. The only saving grace right now is the death rate has not followed the case positives, but in a pandemic that is becoming a case of the vaccinated vs the unvaccinated the unvaccinated are having it much worse than the vaccinated.

Sure you can still pop positive after being double vaccinated plus two weeks but at the end of the day it is unlikely you will end up having anything serious happen to you.We as an entire society have to have a hard look at ourselves. The current behaviors being exhibited now are the root cause of more and more children who cannot currently receive a vaccine getting sick. If you know your heading into a mass gathering situation with strangers.

Some recommendations:

Keep a mask on. Still try to avoid large family gatherings in order to keep the risk of a vaccinated person transmitting the virus to a child.

Have a serious conversation with your school district about why things are going back to the way they were in 2019 in regard to in school learning. If you have reservations about your child’s education in person, get all the necessary information with regards to virtual schooling.

Have that serious conversation with your kid about why you are making the decision with your child why you making the decisions you are making. If you’re a parent of a child 12-18 under your care, get your child vaccinated. Only 1/3 of those 12-19 have had at least one shot. But above all else don’t be so closed minded to think this is over with. It’s not going to be over with until people everyone can get vaccinated, and until people do.

If you think the last 20 years has been bad with regard to bad behaviors, it’s nothing like the last 3 months where adults have failed our most vulnerable age group all for the sake of trying to speed along a process that cannot be sped along. Oh, and for those Christians, don’t forget about science when those prayers go up to for the doctors and nurses to be of right mind and do the right thing for anything medical.